Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 1.1% – Time to Sell?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares traded down 1.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $475.86 and last traded at $478.11. 18,084,223 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 23,498,867 shares. The stock had previously closed at $483.47.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EU sources say big tech — including Microsoft — will be spared the strictest outcomes in the EU digital rule overhaul, reducing short‑term regulatory risk for MSFT. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded commercial integrations: PayPal will power Copilot Checkout and Fiserv announced deeper AI integration with Azure — both increase Monetization and distribution of Copilot/Azure services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product/market moves: Microsoft unveiled agentic AI tools aimed at automating retail tasks and is reshuffling teams to strengthen GitHub vs. AI coding rivals — signs of continued product investment that support Azure and Copilot adoption. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing and upside: Firms continue to call MSFT a top AI play (Wedbush reiteration) and consensus price targets imply sizable upside, which can underpin sentiment and buying on dips. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings catalyst: Microsoft is approaching its quarterly report (earnings preview and earnings-date announcement); results and guidance will be the primary near‑term driver of stock direction. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic partnerships continue (TomTom, Hexagon, others) and long‑term forecasts remain bullish — these are supportive but represent slower, multi‑quarter value creation rather than immediate catalysts. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Layoff rumors: Multiple reports suggested large job cuts tied to AI costs; Microsoft publicly denied the specifics, but the rumor flow has created volatility and a near‑term negative headline effect. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Local opposition: Microsoft was identified as behind a controversial proposed data center in Michigan, drawing community pushback that can delay projects and raise PR/regulatory costs. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk: A judge allowed Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI to proceed to trial; because Microsoft is a major OpenAI backer/partner, the outcome could create reputational or contractual uncertainty. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $637.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho downgraded Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $639.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $630.11.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $489.86 and a 200 day moving average of $503.84.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 386.7% in the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).